Ted Larson

From Fargo Filmmaking

Ted Larson (July 5, 1940-November 28, 2000) was a popular film professor, collector, historian, and enthusiast. Larson taught at Minnesota State University Moorhead from 1968 until his death in November of 2000.

Ted Larson

An irrepresible and passionate lover of the cinema, Larson began sharing movies with people when he was still a boy, showing 16mm films first to family and friends, and then to the public. Larson was born in Fargo, but grew up in Glyndon, Minnesota and graduated from high school there. In 1962, he graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with majors in speech and theatre and English literature. He continued to graduate school, where he earned a master's degree from the University of Kansas.

He taught at Ben Franklin Junior High School in Fargo for six years, and then joined the faculty of Minnesota State University Moorhead, where he would spend thirty-two years teaching students about film. Larson was named a distinguished alumnus of the university in 1998 for his contributions to students and film studies. Larson served as a board member for the Fargo Theatre, and was principally responsible for the success of the theatre's long-running Silent Movie Night series.

Larson originated Minnesota State University Moorhead's International Film Festival and the popular Summer Cinema Film Series, annual events that he oversaw for more than two decades. Additionally, he was regularly involved with the Straw Hat Players, often serving as the House Manager for the summer stock program.

As a film collector, Larson spent years reconstructing and restoring rare movies, many of which are now in the collections at the Library of Congress, the George Eastman House, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Following a long friendship with the silent film star Colleen Moore, he helped to set up and administer a film grant fund for students at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Larson would often take students to Cinefest in Syracuse, New York and Cinecon in Los Angeles, California, to experience the rare treat of seeing features that in many cases hadn't been screened publicly since their original release dates.

Larson's funeral was held at the Fargo Theatre on December 3, 2000. The Fargo Film Festival's Ted M. Larson Award, for outstanding contributions to the film industry, is given in his honor.